Vehicle manufacturers have traditionally placed a vehicle identification number (VIN) at least on an externally visible portion of the vehicle dashboard. For example, an engraved VIN plate is commonly placed in a lower corner of an outwardly facing portion of a vehicle dashboard so that it may be viewed through the windshield from the driver's side of the vehicle. A window may be provided so that the VIN is visible through an edge decoration (e.g., paint band) of the windshield.
It is also known to additionally stamp a VIN into a dashboard/firewall body panel that resides forward of the visible dashboard near a rear underhood or cowl area. However, due to design changes introduced to improve pedestrian safety in a pedestrian-vehicle collision, this VIN stamping location is no longer practical. Consequently, it has been decided to relocate this stamped VIN to the floor panel of the vehicle.
Because of the remote location and possibly sealed arrangement of traditional dashboard-mounted VIN plates, obstruction by dust and debris, abrasion, etc., has never been particularly problematic. Similarly, the above-described traditional location of the stamped VIN is not particularly susceptible to debris collection nor to damaging contact with other objects.
This is not necessarily the case with floor-located VINs, where dirt and other debris may obstruct or damage a VIN by passing through and/or collecting in a carpet cutout provided for the purpose of viewing the VIN. Further, in the case of a VIN placed in/on a vehicle floor panel during vehicle production, the VIN location may be determined largely by the equipment (e.g., rolling machine) that places the VIN in the floor panel. Consequently, the resulting VIN location may be substantially under the feet of an occupant of the vehicle to which the floor panel is installed. Such a location obviously exacerbates potential problems caused by dirt and other debris.
As a result of such concerns, various covers for floor-located VINs either exist or have been proposed. However, existing and proposed VIN covers for floor-located VINs are expensive and complicated, and have been manufactured from hard materials that have an unpleasant feeling under the feet of a vehicle occupant. VIN covers according to the invention overcome these problems.